


your hand forever's all i want

by thimble



Series: SASO 2017 [2]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-27
Updated: 2017-07-27
Packaged: 2018-12-07 16:51:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,131
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11627778
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thimble/pseuds/thimble
Summary: Three weeks before the end of the world, Ushijima and Oikawa find each other again.[An AU ofSeeking A Friend For the End of the World.]





	1. and i hate that you know me so well

**Author's Note:**

> written for [these](http://sportsanime.dreamwidth.org/22249.html?thread=12180713#cmt12180713) prompts.

Three weeks before the end of the world, Ushijima is watering the plants on his balcony as the television rages on in the background. This is not a habit of his—it is not characteristic of him to be wasteful of anything, much less of electricity, and evening is not the best time for irrigation—but a certain priority had to take precedence that night. That is, his peace of mind, which is frequently disrupted by his next-door neighbors. They are a couple, they are married, and they are childless, which, according to Ushijima's unintentional eavesdropping, is a sore spot in their arguments. Ushijima wouldn't even have a television set if it didn't come with the apartment, preferring to read or browse online, but he is grateful for it these days, the way he can simply turn up the volume when the shouting starts and tune them out, concentrating very hard on the well-being of his plants.

It is during one of these sessions that the news breaks, interrupting the drama that had been broadcasting. There is an asteroid headed for Earth, says the news anchor, and the mission to stop its trajectory has failed. In three weeks, she continues, it will make impact and destroy all life on the planet.

Ushijima glances up from his plants, frowning at that. His neighbors don't seem to have heard yet, if the yelling is any indication. He has just finished dinner, and if he were to follow routine, he would be on his way to bed in preparation for the work day. He wonders if there would even be work to attend tomorrow.

He sets down his watering can and heads to the bathroom to brush his teeth, as he always does before he goes to sleep. There is no use wondering; he will find out in due time.

 

* * *

 

Two weeks and six days before the end of the world, it turns like it always does, and for Ushijima, the the hours unfold like they always do. He goes in to work and finds that most of his department are not present. Later, he will be told that a fraction of them had killed themselves, while the others have disappeared from the city, presumably to go home to their families. He stumbles upon one of those who stayed snorting cocaine in the men's bathroom, and leaves him to it.

When he returns to his apartment, after clocking in all the hours required of him, his neighbors are no longer fighting. If the creaking bed noises are any indication, they are having vigorous sex. Perhaps it is an act of forgiveness, proof that they do still love each other after all, or perhaps it is celebratory, thanking the gods for not giving them a child to mourn.

Ushijima has watered his plants this morning, so he does not go to the balcony today. He doesn't turn on the television; he does not need reminding that the world is ending. He goes to bed earlier than usual instead.

 

* * *

 

Two weeks and five days before the end of the world, it is a Saturday, so even Ushijima has no excuse to go to work. Even the television cannot drown out his neighbors' groans and moans, so excavates himself from his apartment to spend the day outside.

It seems a mistake immediately: the streets are in chaos, filled with packed bags and crying children, their parents set on the idea that there is such a thing as running far away enough from an asteroid. Some shops have been looted, and others are on fire. Ushijima contemplates driving away to a farm and spending his last days somewhere quiet, but the drive there in this environment will be troublesome.

He detours into a nearby ramen shop instead, one of those still standing, and orders their biggest bowl, since he will be here a while. After he gives his order, he turns and sees the last person he expects to see, alone as well during the apocalypse.

"Aren't you going to say hello, Ushiwaka-chan?" says Oikawa Tooru, fresh out of Ushijima's youth, his brown curls and doe brown eyes near untouched by age. Ushijima has not seen him in years.

"What are you doing here?" asks Ushijima, because what else was he supposed to say?

Oikawa hums noncommittally, making a vague motion with his chopsticks. "I was in the area, and I remembered I love this shop, and here I am. And you? Any reason you're wallowing alone, so close to the apocalypse?"

"You're alone too," says Ushijima. It's only the truth, and he has always been blunt, but something tells him he should not have said it, as if it might cause Oikawa to fling the remnants of his ramen at Ushijima's head and storm out of the shop, fuming. But Oikawa only hums again, and finishes chewing his noodles before he speaks.

"So you noticed. Everyone's with their misses and their kids, you know? I can't intrude on Iwa-chan, not right now, even if he'll have me. I'd spoil Hajime Jr. rotten, but he deserves to be spending time with his daddy and mommy, not Uncle Tooru." If that is regret in Oikawa's voice, it doesn't linger long enough for Ushijima to find out. "Let me guess. You're in the same lonely boat."

Ushijima nods, even though he does not feel lonely. Or at least he hadn't, until Oikawa reappeared in his life looking like he always does, musing on what-could-have-beens.

His ramen arrives. He murmurs a quiet _itadakimasu_ to himself and begins to eat, feeling Oikawa's gaze on him as he drinks some of the broth. He can hear Oikawa's smile, even without turning his head to look.

"What a sad pair we are, Ushiwaka-chan."

Ushijima, with warm soup in his belly and Oikawa beside him, would not necessarily agree.


	2. i didn't know i was lonely 'til i saw your face

Three days after the news broadcast about the asteroid that is to end all life on earth, Ushijima finds himself reunited with Oikawa, who seems to be taking the notion of an apocalypse better than even Ushijima, who had gone to work the day after the news broke. Ushijima would've liked to light incense at the altar of whoever god it is that caused them to find each other again in the chaos that Tokyo has been reduced to, but this is not the time to be visiting temples, provided that any of them are still standing.

"That," points out Oikawa, after Ushijima mused about it out loud. "Or they'll be jam-packed with people who have similar ideas. You're too negative, Ushiwaka-chan."

Oikawa is is deep in thought after that, tapping his chopsticks across his lips. They're still in the ramen shop where they'd run into each other, but Ushijima thinks that would no longer be the case soon.

"Your farm idea isn't half-bad, though. But all the roads will be packed, and would the trains still be running? Hmm."

Ushijima looks at Oikawa and has the terrifying thought that whatever Oikawa wishes, he will make it happen. Even after all this time.

"We will find a way."

And they do, somehow. With only a backpack each, containing everything they might need for the next two and a half weeks, they hitchhike their way out of the city—quite a feat in itself, considering all the clutter people have packed into their cars while preparing to run away from the apocalypse—until there aren't any vehicles left to ride.

"Are we walking the rest of the way, Oikawa?"

"Unless you're offering to carry me, Ushiwaka-chan."

The towns become smaller and quieter the longer they travel, the two of them sleeping in and relying on the kindness of strangers' houses, exchanging a night's stay with a day's work. Sometimes the work entails quieting a crying child, which Oikawa is brilliant at, or, as they walk deeper into the countryside, milking a cow, which Oikawa is horrible at.

"I didn't even know you could laugh like that," says Oikawa, miserably, blinking away the milk that had been squirted into his eye. Ushijima had surprised himself with it too.

"Neither could I."

After two weeks of walking, and with three days of existence left, they stop at farm almost exactly like what Ushijima had been imagining for his last days. Granted, he thought it would be because he was old and retired, not headed for death at his prime, but it is a miracle that they made it here at all.

Ushijima lets himself fall backwards onto the grass as Oikawa fusses over him, shrieking, "you haven't even checked if there was horse poop behind you!" Ushijima catches a hold of his wrist and Oikawa is still muttering as he goes down, but he's quiet when he lands on top of Ushijima.

"There was no horse poop behind me," says Ushijima, cupping Oikawa's cheek. Oikawa closes his eyes and leans into the touch, sighing.

"Lucky for you." Oikawa turns his head a little to press his mouth to Ushijima's palm, then goes to rest his chin on Ushijima's chest. Ushijima's arms wrap around him, unconcerned about whether or not Oikawa can hear his heart hitting consecutive spikes against his ribcage, at this proximity. He has his farm, he has Oikawa; he can't help but agree with what Oikawa has said.

"Yes. Lucky for me."


	3. someday i'm gonna make this right

Seventy-two hours before the end of the world, Ushijima finds out what it's like to kiss Oikawa.

They're at some arbitrary field under some arbitrary clouds at some arbitrary time, but the way Oikawa's lips meet his is anything but. There's intent behind the softness, feeling behind the desire, and it takes all of Ushijima's willpower to stay still. He wants to pull Oikawa impossibly closer to him, he wants to roll them over and pin Oikawa to the grass, he wants to—he _wants._

Ever since he had met Oikawa, that's all he seems to ever do.

 

* * *

 

Forty-eight hours before the end of the world, they're lying next to each other on the soft earth, their eyes raised to the sky.

It might be more romantic to say that Oikawa is telling him about the constellations, but in reality he is telling Ushijima, in excessive detail, about the differences of Star Trek and Star Wars after Ushijima mistakenly lets on his lack of pop culture know-how. Oikawa is gesturing animatedly with his hands, hands that Ushijima had once so admired from across the court for the way they can serve and toss. He admires them for a different reason now, after yesterday. He thinks about taking one of them and brushing his mouth over its knuckles, but that might interrupt Oikawa's ramblings, and as much as Ushijima loves his hands, he loves Oikawa's voice too.

(A voice capable of so much command and cruelty, whispering _Wakatoshi_ right into his ear.)

 

* * *

 

Twenty-four hours before the end of the world, Ushijima asks, "would you like to stay outside?"

Oikawa seems to consider it, for a moment. They've chanced upon an abandoned house and had been perusing it since their arrival at the farm, and they could very well make themselves comfortable in its master bedroom as the end nears. But apart from eating the leftovers in the fridge, or stealing some blankets from the beds for colder nights, they've been spending most of their time under the stars. It seems fitting, to spend the last of it there too, and Oikawa seems to have the same idea.

He nods, smirking his way through his bluff. "We have to greet Asteroid-san when he comes, don't we?"

 

* * *

 

Five minutes before the end of the world, Oikawa says, simply and quietly, "I'm scared."

He had put up such a front for Ushijima, but Ushijima doesn't waste words telling him he'd been brave all along. Instead, he says, "I'm here with you."

Whether he means _you don't have to be_ or _I'm afraid too_ he leaves it up for Oikawa to interpret.

They're facing each other, with Ushijima's lips on Oikawa's knuckles like they're rosary beads and his kisses the prayer, when light streaks across the sky, and in the distance, a sound like thunder, or something massive hitting the earth.

The ground trembles, and they huddle closer together.

"Tooru," says Ushijima, but Oikawa doesn't let him finish, pulling him in by the collar so their lips can collide. He'd wanted to say a myriad of things, but he agrees that this is, with Oikawa exhaling into his mouth and his hand finding a home in the small of Oikawa's back, is a better use of the time they have left.

 

* * *

 

Five seconds before the end of the world, he feels Oikawa smile against his lips, and hears, "hey, me too," as the thunder reaches them and everything turns white.


End file.
